


Us

by ArtsyAfrodite



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Fic!February, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-08
Updated: 2014-02-08
Packaged: 2018-01-11 14:16:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1174068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtsyAfrodite/pseuds/ArtsyAfrodite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ian and Mandy have a heart to heart about Mickey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Us

“He’s like Lake Flathead.”

Mandy furrowed her eyebrows in unavoidable confusion.  It was a given.  Ian had been speaking in a foreign language for the past hour as far as she was concerned.  She blew a sluggish streak of smoke towards the ceiling as she sat Indian style on her bed, her best friend still lying flat on his back.  His eyes followed the gray as it snaked upwards, looking for a response in the smoke as Mandy wasn’t offering one. 

“Lake Flathead?” he began as he sat up, lining his back against her headboard.  “You know, the one in Montana?”  Mandy shrugged, snuffing out her cigarette.

“Do I look like a fucking Geologist or some shit?”  A small smile tugged at the corners of Ian’s mouth.  He missed his best friend’s directness, missed the way she added just enough _bitch_ to her responses.  “I have no clue where that is, and if I did, you’re not making any sense.”  She repositioned herself so she was now sitting next to Ian.

“Your brother doesn’t make any sense.  Yet he does at the same time.”

“We’re talking about Mickey here Ian.”  So Mandy thought.  Ian had called her earlier asking if he could come over to talk.  She knew he had Mickey on the brain and assured him the coast was clear.  “Clarify.”  Ian chuckled lightly because he was fucked the moment he saw the photo. 

“Lake Flathead is a body of water in Montana that’s so clear, it looks shallow.”  Mandy tilted her head sideways, the way she did when the topic at hand was a lost cause.  “It looks shallow, when it’s actually 370 feet deep.  I came across a photo of it and thought of Mickey.”

“Why?” Mandy asked, trying her best to stay on the same page.

“Despite coming off as shallow, he’s got a lot of depth, ya know?”  And it was a dangerous thing.  Ian had jumped into him, thinking his feet would touch the bottom, but he’d drowned in Mickey so many times.

“No, I don’t know,” Mandy teased. 

“Never mind,” Ian responded.  He darted his eyes to his hands that were fiddling with the embroidered detail in Mandy’s comforter, roses steadily blooming in his cheeks.  Mandy knew that look.  Her face grew more serious as she laid her head on Ian’s shoulder.

“You love him?”  Ian leaned his head on Mandy’s.  He didn’t respond, only letting out a long breath.  It was definitely a ‘yes’ so Mandy grabbed his hand, twining her fingers with his.  She tried to think about when it happened, Ian falling in love with Mickey of all people.  “You deserve better than my shithead brother,” she offered.  Ian cringed and lifted his head up.  Mandy looked up at Ian when she felt the weight lift off of her head.  She looked into his green eyes, so vulnerable, questioning.

“Why do you say that?” Ian asked.  His voice was somber.  Mandy’s face saddened as the guilt of her words weighed down her shoulders.  Her posture changed as her fingers clenched tighter around Ian’s.

“It’s just you’re two different people, ya know?”  Ian looked at Mandy, his face incredulous.  “I love my brother, but his situation is so complicated, being with Svetlana and all.  Plus you’ve tried, while he hasn’t.”  Ian smiled because he knew what the deal _really_ was.

“Eh, we’re not much different,” Ian responded.

“How so?” Mandy asked, still convinced her argument was legitimate.  She was hoping Ian would refrain from a mediocre answer like them both growing up in the south side, being complex teenage boys and having fucked up families; because that stuff was the obvious.

“We may have different approaches most of the time, but we’re always working for the same thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Us,” Ian answered.  “I always thought your brother was being selfish or cowardly, and I never realized this before, but I get it now.”  He got quiet, his eyes shifting to the silly picture Mandy kept on her nightstand of her and Mickey poking their tongues out of their mouths. 

“What do you realize?” Mandy encouraged when she noticed him trail off. 

“While I was fighting for us, Mickey was surviving for us.”

“Well damn,” Mandy replied, Ian now looking back at her.  She smiled at her best friend, gladly bowing out.  She laid her head back on his shoulder as she turned her body into his and cuddled closer.  “You’re seeing him again, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Ian replied with the biggest grin on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by a picture I actually stumbled upon on Tumblr of Lake Flathead in Montana. Apparently, the body of water is so clear, it appears shallow when it's actually 370 feet deep. I felt like that was so Mickey, and I wrote a thing. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading! :)


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